1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automotive dash module installation structure in which a dash module having various parts assembled thereto with a steering member as a main constituent is installed to a dash portion of a vehicle body, and relates to a method of installing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an assembling process of an automotive vehicle body, a method was adopted before, in which various parts in the vicinity of a dash of the vehicle body, that is, an air conditioning unit, a duct, an instrument panel, an audio unit, electric systems and the like were assembled to the vehicle body individually in order. However, in recent years, a method has been adopted, in which the foregoing various parts are previously formed as a dash module in one unit with the steering member extending in a vehicle width direction as a main constituent of the module, carried in a vehicle cabin, and assembled to the vehicle body (Please refer to the gazettes of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6 (1994)-199152 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8 (1996)-318760).
Meanwhile, in the foregoing conventional installation structure, particularly in a type in which the air conditioning unit is assembled to the dash module, heater pipes as two protrusions provided in the air conditioning unit are required to be inserted to through hole portions provided in a dash panel and to be protruded to an engine room side.
However, the instrument panel covering assembly parts including the steering member is assembled to the dash module. Accordingly, insertion regions of the foregoing heater pipes to the dash panel through hole portions cannot be viewed due to this instrument panel. Therefore, the heater pipes abut on the dash panel and scrape rims of the through hole portions, thus causing damage to the heater pipes and the dash panel in some cases.
The object of the present invention is to enable the protrusions to be inserted to insertion hole portions readily and securely even if the insertion regions of the protrusions to the insertion hole portions cannot be viewed, the protrusions being provided in any one of the dash module and the dash panel at the vehicle body side, and the insertion hole portions being provided in the other, when the dash module is assembled to the vehicle body.
In order to achieve the foregoing object, from the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automotive dash module installation structure, comprising: an insertion hole portion provided in any one of a dash module and a dash panel at a vehicle body side, the dash module having various parts assembled thereto with a steering member as a main constituent; a protrusion provided in the other one of said dash module and the dash panel, the protrusion being inserted to said insertion hole portion; a positioning pin provided in any one of at least one end portion of both ends in a vehicle width direction of said steering member and the vehicle body side corresponding thereto, the positioning pin extending in the vehicle width direction; and a guide groove provided in the other one of the end portion of said steering member and the vehicle body side, the guide groove receiving the positioning pin and extending in a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body, wherein each length in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body of said protrusion and said guide groove is set in a manner that said guide groove receives said positioning pin before said protrusion starts to be inserted to said insertion hole portion when said dash module is installed to the vehicle body.
In accordance with such a constitution of the automotive dash module installation structure, when the dash module is installed to a dash portion within the vehicle, the positioning pin provided in any one of the steering member and the vehicle body is entered to the guide groove provided in the other thereof, and the dash module is pushed ahead in this state, thus the positioning pin is moved relatively to the guide groove in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body, and is guided thereto. In this guiding process, the protrusion provided in any one of the dash module and the dash panel is inserted to the insertion hole portion provided in the other thereof.
From the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automotive dash module installation structure, comprising: an insertion hole portion provided in any one of a dash module and a dash panel at a vehicle body side, the dash module having various parts assembled thereto with a steering member as a main constituent; a protrusion provided in the other one of the dash module and the dash panel, the protrusion being inserted to said insertion hole portion; a temporarily holding claw provided in any one of at least one end portion of both ends in the vehicle width direction of said steering member and the vehicle body side corresponding thereto, the temporarily holding claw extending in a vehicle width direction; and a temporarily holding hole portion provided in the other one of the end portion of said steering member and the vehicle body side, the temporarily holding hole portion receiving the temporarily holding claw and temporarily holding the dash module to the vehicle body, wherein a vicinity of said temporarily holding claw is fastened with a fastener toward a front of the vehicle body.
In accordance with the foregoing constitution, when the dash module is installed to the dash portion within the vehicle, the temporarily holding claw provided in any one of the steering member and the vehicle body is entered in the temporarily holding hole portion provided in the other thereof, and thus the dash module is temporarily held to the vehicle body. Herein, for example in the case where an assist grasping and carrying the dash module is used when the dash module is carried and brought within the vehicle and pushed to a normal installing position of the dash portion, the dash module can be fastened fixedly with the vehicle body by the fastener in a state where the assist is detached from the dash module temporarily held to the vehicle body.
From the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automotive dash module installation structure, comprising: an insertion hole portion provided in any one of a dash module and a dash panel at a vehicle body side, the dash module having various parts assembled thereto with a steering member as a main constituent; a protrusion provided in the other one of said dash module and the dash panel, the protrusion being inserted to said insertion hole portion; a positioning pin provided in any one of one end portion of both ends in a vehicle width direction of said steering member and the vehicle body side corresponding thereto, the positioning pin extending in the vehicle width direction; a guide groove provided in the other one of the end portion of said steering member and the vehicle body side, the guide groove receiving the positioning pin and extending in a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body; a temporarily holding claw provided in any one of the other end portion of both ends in the vehicle width direction of said steering member and the vehicle body side corresponding thereto, the temporarily holding claw extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body; and a temporarily holding hole portion provided in the other one of the other end portion of said steering member and the vehicle body side, the temporarily holding hole portion receiving the temporarily holding claw and temporarily holding the dash module to the vehicle body, wherein each length in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body of said protrusion and said guide groove is set in a manner that said guide groove receives said positioning pin before said protrusion is inserted to said insertion hole portion when said dash module is installed to the vehicle body, and a vicinity of said temporarily holding claw is fastened with a fastener toward a front of the vehicle body.
In accordance with the foregoing constitution, when the dash module is installed to the dash portion within the vehicle, the positioning pin provided in any one of the steering member and the vehicle body is entered to the guide groove provided in the other thereof, and the dash module is pushed ahead in this state, thus the positioning pin is moved relatively to the guide groove in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body, and is guided thereto. In this guiding process, the protrusion provided in any one of the dash module and the dash panel is inserted to the insertion hole portion provided in the other thereof.
Moreover, at this time, the temporarily holding claw provided in any one of the steering member at the other end portion of the steering member and the vehicle body enters the temporarily holding hole portion, and thus the dash module is temporarily held to the vehicle body. Herein, for example in the case where the assist grasping and carrying the dash module is used when the dash module is carried and brought within the vehicle and pushed to the installing position of the dash portion, the dash module can be fastened fixedly with the vehicle body by the fastener in a state where the assist is detached from the dash module temporarily held to the vehicle body.
From the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of installing a dash module having various parts assembled therein with a steering member as a main constituent to a dash portion of a vehicle body, said method comprising: guiding a positioning pin provided in any one of one end portion of both ends in a vehicle width direction of said steering member and a vehicle body side corresponding thereto, the positioning pin extending in the vehicle width direction, to a guide groove provided in the other one of the end portion of said steering member and the vehicle body side, the guide groove extending in a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body; inserting a temporarily holding claw provided in any one of the other end portion of the both ends in the vehicle width direction of said steering member and the vehicle body side corresponding thereto, the temporarily holding claw extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body, to a temporarily holding hole portion provided in the other one of the other end portion of said steering member and the vehicle body side, to temporarily hold said dash module to the vehicle body; and moving said dash module further ahead after said positioning pin is guided to the guide groove and said temporarily holding claw is inserted to the temporarily holding hole portion, thereby inserting a protrusion to a through hole portion formed on a dash panel, the protrusion protruding ahead from a part assembled to said dash module.
In accordance with the foregoing installing method, when the protrusion protruding ahead from the part assembled to the dash module is inserted to the through hole portion of the dash panel, the positioning pin is guided to the guide groove, and the temporarily holding claw is inserted to the temporarily holding hole portion. Accordingly, the protrusion is smoothly inserted to the through hole portion without abutting on the dash panel or scraping a rim of the through hole portion.